[Quiet Man Cometh]

I watched this show on Nat Geo Wild a while ago, and have been tossing the concept around in my head now and then. The idea was that, if you could save any 10 species on Earth from extinction, which ones would they be? Attenborough's list was the following:

Black Lion Tamarin
Sumatran Rhino
Solenodon
Olm
Marvelous Spatul Tail
Darwin's Frog
Priam's Birdwing butterfly
Northern Quoll
Glass sponge

If you could save 10 species from extinction, what would you pick? I haven't sorted out my own list yet, save for some generic ideas. I'd pick some manner of bear, I think, some manner of horse for their role in mankind's development, and likely some manner of canine. Also thinking about the Golden Lion Tamarin simply because I like the little things. And maybe a bat, as the only truly flying mammal.

[Lawtan]

Generally:
Bees (Honey)
Spiders (To keep bugs down)
Bacteria (Decomposers)
Flowering Plant
Fruit Plant (Bannana tree)
Vegetable plant (Onion)
Hawk (Carnivore - predator)
Bunny (Herbivore - prey)
Wolf (keep sheep/bunnies down)
Sheep (wool)

[Quiet Man Cometh]

What sort of bee? I assume you mean the European honey bee over the other guys if honey is what you're after. Not really knowledgeable on bees. Just heard that name tossed around in shows dealing with Africanized bees. I hear carpenter bees are better pollinators, but not the best for honey. You can order them online and keep them in your freezer, apparently.

What sort of spider? Any type in particular?

I might agree with Attenborough on the pangolin. It's certainly a unique looking thing. If I were to pick a bat solely because I liked it it would probably be the flying fox or leaf nosed bat. Vampire bats are kind of funky too, since they walk...sort of. More of staggering crawl, really.

I'm assuming here that we don't need to worry about keeping the planet running or the human race alive. I doubt 10 species could manage that.

[Lawtan]

Africanized bees vs European bees
Time until you are declared a threat to be chased/stung - 1/2 second vs several seconds
Distance chased - 1 mile vs 500 feet
Also, Africanized bees are more swarm-ish

Between Jumbing and Wolf Spider
*Reads the part about not saving the world*...in that case
Indian Cobra
Canadian Timber Wolf
Golden Eagle
Wandering Albatross
Arabian Horse
Koi fish
Tortoise (the big old kind)
Corvids (2) (don't know which 2)
Fruit Bat

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Don't forget about the Africanized bees' spaz pheromone.

The Arabian would be a fantastic choice for a horse. I'm a big fan of the big drafts though, and the Arabian has little to do with them, as least as far as I know. If I were to pick a horse purely on liking the breed, it would probably be the Fresian or the Percheron, even though I generally like big, feathery feet. I'll have to do more searching.

[Lawtan]

My mother owns two Arabians that I grew up taking care of (as a note: half terrified to ride them as one nearly made me a pancake as a kid)

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Oh dear. I was miffed about not having a horse as a kid since my mother, aunt, and older sister all had them. I suppose it was probably a good choice though. I'm not sure I'd have been able to take care of one.

My mother had an Arabian stallion that was really nice looking, but small, and a friend of her used to breed them.